After watching, listening to Fran Drescher's rightfully impassioned comments regarding the state of her industry, the continued placement of profit above ethical and artistic concerns, I'm moved to provide my personal reaction to the money uber alles attitude that pervades our country, our world!
I'm keeping this as brief as I can. In 2011 I was diagnosed with kidney cancer and after a successful operation in December I spent the first four months of 2012 convalescing. (I'll be 70-ten in September - ready for another ten years in my seventies!) I have witnessed more than one miracle in my lifetime. I was on a prayer chain before my surgery. I always ask people to pray that the surgeon has a good hand! A long surgery complicated by two pea sized tumors joined together - if the doctor had broken the thread cancer would have spread through my body. After the operation, meeting with Dr. Chung at Stanford Hospital the next day, I was left with survivor guilt. No chemo, no months of grinding nausea and severe discomfort. Can't do a biopsy on kidneys, so I didn't know until the actual operation that it was cancer. It made me wonder if there was a cosmic reason for my survival, my minimal grief and pain.
Since then I feel like a character in a 60s comic book like "Tales From the Crypt." One of my favorites - two men in hospital - bed A and bed B. Bed A tells the guy in B (no window) about the kids on the playground, mothers pushing strollers, etc. But B becomes jealous, finds a way to poison bed A and moves to the new spot - only to find there is no window! In my story, I miraculously escape cancer, prayers are answered, longevity results. A blessing? At times I'm unsure. My knee-jerk Republican father passed before 9-11, didn't have to witness that atrocity, and the resultant idiocy of Bush junior's misdirected carnage in Iraq. Maybe there's a blessing in dodging disappointments.
So what have I witnessed in my comic strip life after being saved from a sneaky death by cancer? One of my guiding principals has been "the greatness of a culture is determined by the art it produces." There are arguments against the mass-produced culture of the US (and others) but many gems are found in the cracks between the more publicized offerings. As a musician, and a sax player, I have a fondness for 60-70 year old R&B, especially what I call "third tier" offerings. Songs that never made the hit parade, not even the known "B" sides. But excellent compositions, on the "wrong" label, not on the airwaves because of lack of payola, poor timing, poor recording. Perhaps my destiny lies in mining these diamonds in the rough, cutting the stones to reveal their beauty?
Or is it my fate to witness the ecological destruction of the planet, the plague of Covid, war in Ukraine, the madness of contemporary politics, the dumbing down of education, chauvinism morphing into misogyny, AI crushing creative outlets?!
Well, no matter the negatives, no matter the comic book ending, I remain secure in my morals and my core values. I'm fortunate to have had wonderful teachers and guidance from many inspirational people. I feel sorry for those who are denied such experience, since societal values are often skewed to serve authoritarian perspectives. But I'm not looking for trouble, simply tending to my art, won't let current events deter or depress me. It's not easy though - witnessing great atrocities, placing them in perspective - calming one's outrage. What's the antidote to adrenalin?
Creativity! Exercising your artistic vision, maintaining intrinsic respect and value for the arts! And most importantly, following your own inner beacon. The sensitivities and DNA of every unique human are not to be disparaged. Quell the vestiges of the storm "out there," keep peace with your own instincts and aptitudes, shrug and "keep on keeping on." And respect and support those artists who tirelessly fight for our rights!
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